Hogs with 30-06

Status
Not open for further replies.
I’ve seen some big hogs in Northwestern Texas soak up an unbelievable number of bullets before giving up the ghost. Of course these ordeals are almost always started with a poor first shot under lousy conditions. But I’ve seen big boars out there with a 6” shield and healed over bullet scars in those shields. Usually what appears to be varmint style .22CF or some such as a guess.

Smaller boar hogs say, under 200lbs and sows are pretty soft and easy to kill. A mature boar over 200lbs that’s been fighting a lot and has built up a massive cartridge shield is an incredibly thick, heavy boned and muscled animal. They are not bullet resistant but they are tough on soft bullets and remind me a little of African DG when wounded. Not in the danger but in how tough they get when their adrenaline gets pumping.

6” plate? You sure you aren’t hunting rhinos? I’ve killed a pile of pigs. Never seen anything even approaching 2” thick.
 
Last edited:
Just repeating the good advice above. Hogs aren’t hard to kill. 150s-160s in 30-30 are more than adequate. Take the advice on shot placement given above and any old cup and core bullet will do. Anything that alleges to kill deer will kill hogs.

My only caveat is that throughies with a .308 bullet at 2,900 FPS will travel a long way! If you are buying rather than loading, that Hornady Reduced Recoil stuff might be a good idea. Otherwise, cheapy soft points probably a good idea.
 
In that caliber really anything should be fine for anything you are likely to see.

I'm supposed to be going on a hog hunt this coming year and I am planning on taking my .223 and am not worried a bit.

If you’re killing, not hunting, the .223 may be fine. You’ll wound some, and some of them will run off and die somewhere. Some will be the bullet scarred thugs others run across. If you’re shooting little eating pigs from a blind, should be okay too.

Wouldn’t want to line hunt or stalk hunt with a poodle shooter though. A 300 lbs boar gets up out of a wallow 30 yards ahead of you and decides to take at you, well, you best have some matador moves.
 
Shot placement is more important than any bullet style or size!
I think that’s “potentially” misleading. So let’s clarify. You shoot anything other than a small hog in the “shoulder” with a 40gr V-Max, you’re most likely NOT going to bring home the pig. You shoot the same hog with a 69gr bonded sp, you’re much more likely to successfully harvest.

However, use a well constructed, appropriate weight bullet, and your statement is spot on.

Pigs aren’t bullet proof. But if you use the wrong bullet, sometimes even the right caliber, you’ll likely not be able to prove they aren’t.
 
i began hunting wild hogs in 2000. First hogs were killed using a .50 caliber muzzleloader and the .240 grain .430 XTP bullet. For years my inline muzzleloader bullet has been the excellent 250 grain SST.

Any soft point 150 grain .30 caliber bullet will reliably kill huge hogs when put in the right place. When loaded in the .308 or .30-06; the 150 grain TSX bullet is a great killer. My 180 grain TSX bullets were bought in 2010. They are poor performers on hogs because they won't expand at .30-06 velocities.

Wild boar hogs ain't rhinos, the "shield" won't make any difference. The "shields" on this hog were 1 1/2 - 2" thick. He went about 50 yards after being hit.

https://i.imgur.com/xI1eHWd.jpg

A .223 bullet in the vitals trumps a .30 caliber premium bullet in the guts.

http://boarmasters.com/shot-placement-on-wild-hogs/

BTW: Don't expect a good blood trail from mortally wounded hogs.
 
6” plate? You sure you aren’t hunting rhinos? I’ve killed a pile of pigs. Never seen anything even approaching 2” thick.

I’ve also killed a “pile” of hogs. Well into the multiple hundreds. The average mature boar has a shield of some kind, some don’t at all. And every once in a while you’ll find one that has an unbelievably thick one. One of those that you absolutely can not bend when you skin it.

It’s not common but I’ve seen it a couple of times now on big, old mature boars. I think it has a lot to do with genetics. The ranch I used to hunt on had some extremely strong European boar genetics.
 
It’s not like your asking what .223 bullet or bullet for subsonic 30 cal.

Anything on the shelf for hunting medium game will work. 150’s-180’s cover that ground quite well.
 
Wild hogs in this area have a big slug of Eurasian boar blood. The hog pictured at my link above lay on the ground for five days before the coyotes started to feed. Last thing the coyotes ate were the "shields".
 
i began hunting wild hogs in 2000. First hogs were killed using a .50 caliber muzzleloader and the .240 grain .430 XTP bullet. For years my inline muzzleloader bullet has been the excellent 250 grain SST.

Any soft point 150 grain .30 caliber bullet will reliably kill huge hogs when put in the right place. When loaded in the .308 or .30-06; the 150 grain TSX bullet is a great killer. My 180 grain TSX bullets were bought in 2010. They are poor performers on hogs because they won't expand at .30-06 velocities.

Wild boar hogs ain't rhinos, the "shield" won't make any difference. The "shields" on this hog were 1 1/2 - 2" thick. He went about 50 yards after being hit.

https://i.imgur.com/xI1eHWd.jpg

A .223 bullet in the vitals trumps a .30 caliber premium bullet in the guts.

http://boarmasters.com/shot-placement-on-wild-hogs/

BTW: Don't expect a good blood trail from mortally wounded hogs.

I’ve seen Triple Shoks open reliably at lower velocities and I personally think this is one of the better hog bullets available. I think they’re a good choice for just about all game.

The gristle plate will test bullet integrity when lousy cup and core bullets are being used, especially when overdriven. They are not armored as I have stated before, but you don’t want to use inferior bullets on the mature boars.

You are right about a blood trail. I shot one with my .416 Remington (a 250-lb boar in North Carolina), loaded with 300 grain TSXs and despite the exit and massive internal trauma, there wasn’t a drop of blood on the ground.

JMHO
 
The gristle plate will test bullet integrity when lousy cup and core bullets are being used, especially when overdriven.

This year i've killed over 15, 250 pound and larger wild boar hogs using a .50 muzzleloader and the 250 grain SST bullet. Killed three or four more large boars using .50 and .54 caliber patched round balls. Except for three all were one shot kills. i've shot 300 pound hogs using Remington 150 grain Core Lokt bullets, 150 grain Winchester Silver Tips, 150 grain round nose Hornady, 150 grain Sierra Game King and other bullets. None of those ever failed to penetrate the shoulder of a big boar hog. Concerned with the "gristle plate" ? Then don't shoot hogs in the "gristle plate".

One of the places i hunt outlaws use of centerfire rifles and muzzleloaders outside deer season. i routinely kill large hogs there using a .22 magnum.
 
I’m not “concerned” with the gristle plate, but I don’t dismiss it either as that is foolish. I don’t deal in absolutes as I have killed boatloads of hogs. I have seen lots of failures on lots of different animal species due to over-matching bullets. My point was that instead of trying to save pennies by buying cheaper bullets, one should buy reliable bullets - like the TSX. I know they’re varmints in essence, but I still don’t like losing animals if avoidable.

When I was an editor with Boar Hunter magazine (may it Rest In Peace), I used all manner of bullet/caliber/load combinations on hogs for testing purposes.
 
I’m not “concerned” with the gristle plate, but I don’t dismiss it either as that is foolish. I don’t deal in absolutes as I have killed boatloads of hogs. I have seen lots of failures on lots of different animal species due to over-matching bullets. My point was that instead of trying to save pennies by buying cheaper bullets, one should buy reliable bullets - like the TSX. I know they’re varmints in essence, but I still don’t like losing animals if avoidable.

When I was an editor with Boar Hunter magazine (may it Rest In Peace), I used all manner of bullet/caliber/load combinations on hogs for testing purposes.

I’ve personally never had a bullet of any kind fail to penetrate on a hog of any size. And I’ve shot them with a wide assortment of calibers and bullets. But I’ve got some buddies who have. One was a factory 240 Gr soft point out of a 44 mag carbine on a giant boar. The bullet made it through the thick gristle (about 3 to 4”) then stopped on the shoulder blade. We know because we killed him 6 months later with a rifle.

The other was a 150gr CoreLokt out of a .308 Win. It did about the same on a largish boar with a thin gristle plate. We know on that one too because one of the cowboys found him several days later alive. He roped the boar and killed him with a knife. We dug the failed bullet out later that day.

I also like a tougher bullet on hogs.
 
I will tell you this though. I’ve been surprised how many times I’ve seen a hog stop a 270 Gr TSX out of a .375 H&H. It kills them just fine but I’ve found expanded bullets in the off side shield multiple dozens of times.

What is surprising about that is the same bullet generally exits on a broadside shot on a Cape buffalo. The gristle on a hog is an expanded bullet stopper extraordinaire.
 
Just shot a 200 lb boar two days ago in the top of the head. It was looking right at me then lowered its head to feed at 35 yds and I let him have it with my 12 ga Ithaca Deerslayer and a 2 3/4" Winchester Partition Gold sabot. It was a through and through.

Not sure if it would have glaced off its head if I had shot it while its head was up and looking at me. I would think a 385gr slug with a 1700fps muzzle velocity would have given it a pretty nasty concussion though.

When I bought that gun it was on the used rack. I asked the salesman to see it and he said, "Oh yeah, the pig gun." I said, "Im from MI and there we call them deer guns." (Im from a shotgun zone in MI)
 
I will tell you this though. I’ve been surprised how many times I’ve seen a hog stop a 270 Gr TSX out of a .375 H&H. It kills them just fine but I’ve found expanded bullets in the off side shield multiple dozens of times.

What is surprising about that is the same bullet generally exits on a broadside shot on a Cape buffalo. The gristle on a hog is an expanded bullet stopper extraordinaire.
Now you’re really going to stir the hornets nest with this post. Hogs vs Cape Buffalo. Fortunately, you’re a moderator. If I’d made a claim like this, I’d roasted from here to next Sunday.
 
I will tell you this though. I’ve been surprised how many times I’ve seen a hog stop a 270 Gr TSX out of a .375 H&H. It kills them just fine but I’ve found expanded bullets in the off side shield multiple dozens of times.

What is surprising about that is the same bullet generally exits on a broadside shot on a Cape buffalo. The gristle on a hog is an expanded bullet stopper extraordinaire.

Just like the new and improved ultra high tech fleece bullet stopper.
 
The problem with hogs is that you never know what you're going to run into. Unlike deer, which are all going to be about the same size and can be taken with the same guns, hogs exist in great variation. Deer don't continue to grow throughout their lives, hogs do. Deer don't have gristle plates that WILL test your bullets. Hogs do. You can plan all day for 50lb roasters and have a 400lb bruiser show up to eat your corn. Personally, I choose to plan for the worst case scenario but being primarily a handgun hunter, I do that anyway. So I default to heavier bullets that are guaranteed to exit. Which means heavy for caliber, controlled expansion bullets for smallbore rifles like the .30-06. Sure, your average cup & core 150gr deer bullet may work fine 90% of the time but a good bullet is cheap insurance.

Another issue here is the variation in which hogs are shot. They are killed and hunted in all manner of different ways. The problem is that the people commenting never stipulate their circumstances and seem to forget that what's "plenty" for them, may not be "plenty" . Folks who only shoot trapped hogs with .22's, "the .22Mag is plenty". Well, that may not apply if you're hunting them 100yds from the feeder. Folks who only brain shoot them with a .223 and pass on all other shots, should probably stipulate their circumstances as well. Just as if you only take perfect broadside shots that encounter nothing heavier than a rib or 50yd neck shots with a .243, you should probably stipulate that, rather than stating absolutely that the .243 is "plenty". In my experience, when bone is encountered, it's anything but "plenty". "Plenty" for me is a bullet that is likely to exit and hold its wad for the entire journey. It does not come unglued on a shoulder.
 
Now you’re really going to stir the hornets nest with this post. Hogs vs Cape Buffalo. Fortunately, you’re a moderator. If I’d made a claim like this, I’d roasted from here to next Sunday.

Please inform the membership here how many Cape buffalo you’ve seen shot with a .375 H&H using Barnes TSX bullets? How about hogs shot with the same?
 
Please inform the membership here how many Cape buffalo you’ve seen shot with a .375 H&H using Barnes TSX bullets? How about hogs shot with the same?
That answer would be zero. But I also don’t discount your claim. I’ve personally seen hogs that I knew I didn’t bring enough gun for. And had never seen hogs in that location anywhere near that size before. Just like CraigC said. I hadn’t learned to plan for the worst case scenario.
 
That answer would be zero. But I also don’t discount your claim. I’ve personally seen hogs that I knew I didn’t bring enough gun for. And had never seen hogs in that location anywhere near that size before. Just like CraigC said. I hadn’t learned to plan for the worst case scenario.

If you think I was saying I’ve shot hogs the size of a Cape buffalo you have severely misunderstood me. All I was saying was that the construction of a boar hog is a pretty efficient expanded TSX bullet stopper.
 
If you think I was saying I’ve shot hogs the size of a Cape buffalo you have severely misunderstood me. All I was saying was that the construction of a boar hog is a pretty efficient expanded TSX bullet stopper.
Lol. No. I didn’t think that’s what you were saying at all. Only that we’ve had so many threads about hogs and their construction and ability to be harvested by various calibers.

The 375 H&H is synonymous with Africa. And a claim there are some hogs that can stop them when some Cape buffalo cannot is pretty astounding. Especially considering the difference in size. But having seen some of the hogs I have, and having seen 4” grissle shields and how dense they are, I absolutely believe it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top